State, Trust for Public land buy 669-acre Bond Ranch

BUYER: Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund of the State of Florida, Tallahassee
SELLER: The Trust for Public Land
PRICE: $3.15 million

BUYER: The Trust for Public Land, Tallahassee
SELLER: Bond Ranch LLC
PROPERTY: 33159 Oil Well Road, Punta Gorda
PRICE: $3.15 million
PREVIOUS PRICE: $14.5 million, April 2006
TITLE FIRM ON DEED: Tallahassee Title Group, Tallahassee

PLANS, DESCRIPTION:
The Trust for Public Land purchased the 669-acre Bond Ranch adjacent to the Charlotte County Correctional Institution and Interstate 75 for $3.15 million.

The price equated to $4,709 per acre.

It has since resold the cattle ranch property to the state for the same purchase price.

Located within the Charlotte Harbor Flatwoods Florida Forever project, the land will be used to address a variety of water issues. The property is located between the 65,758-acre Fred C. Babcock/Cecil M. Webb Wildlife Management Area and the 14,577-acre Yucca Pens Unit, two areas already owned by the state and managed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The connecting parcel should allow the commission to handle water issues from the widening of Interstate 75 without the need for new retention ponds in the middle of the interstate. The property will also help to filter the water flow and prevent flooding in developed areas.

“We helped to acquire this property to restore the more natural water flow in the area,” says Brenda McClymonds, senior project manager for The Trust for Public Land. “The property will be used to store and manage the water flows to the west and ultimately into the estuaries of Charlotte County.”

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will manage the property for the state.